PVC Registration: Police Dismiss Claims of Igbo Traders Being Attacked at INEC Office
- Traders in the popular Alaba International Market shut down their businesses on Thursday, June 9 to register and collect their PVCs ahead of 2023
- Some of them, however, claimed that they were attacked by thugs who stormed the area to stop them from exercising their franchise
- The Lagos state police command, however, dismissed the claims, saying it was a clear case of misunderstanding
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Lagos - Some social media users on Thursday, June 9 claimed that the Ojo Local Government secretariat was invaded by thugs after the Alaba International Market traders besieged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office there for their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs).
Source: Twitter
Some of those at the venue tweeted and shared videos alleging that INEC officials attempted to disenfranchise the traders because of their ethnic group.
Police say the ethnic colouration of altercation exaggerated
But the spokesman of the Lagos state police command, Benjamin Hundeyin, dismissed the claims.
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In a series of tweets, Hundeyin said:
“First, this wasn’t about Igbos. These are the facts behind the trending videos. The entire Alaba International Market decided to close the market today to enable the traders to register for their PVCs. A phased closure would have been better.
“Consequently, the Ojo Local Government venue of the registration was besieged by a mammoth crowd.
“The situation was made worse by the fact that only one registration terminal was working. One of the people who came for registration made trouble and was challenged by those around.
“Going by simple probability, the attacker or the attacked is very likely to be Igbo. They were simply large in number. However, given this incident, ethnic colouration would not help matters. The entire episode lasted a few minutes.”
2023: Peter Obi asks INEC to extend voters registration deadline
In a related development, the presidential candidate of Labour Party, Peter Obi has called on INEC to extend the voter registration exercise across the country as the deadline for registration of new PVCs draws close.
Obi made the call via his official Twitter handle on Thursday, June 9, stressing that the exercise has been impeded by bureaucratic bottlenecks, especially in the southeast region, saying:
“I respectfully call on INEC to facilitate speedy registration of Nigerians to enable them to exercise their voting rights.”
2023: Group says Peter Obi’s presidency will end Biafra agitation
Meanwhile, the aegis of the Nigerian-American Coalition for Justice and Democracy, based in the United States of America, has said that Obi’s emergence, as the country’s president in 2023, would end secession calls and a spate of insecurity, especially in the southeast.
The group, therefore, called on Nigerians to massively vote for Obi, whose personality and leadership quality the group described as rare in the Nigerian political space.
This was contained in a statement signed by the chairman of the group, Prof. Eddy Oparaoji, and seen by Legit.ng on Tuesday, June 7.
Source: Legit.ng
